Emily Ott, a manager at Norwalk-based CieTrade, a software company catering to commodity traders, loves her job. But Ott realized not everyone, especially her younger subordinates, felt the same way.
“They kind of just were like, yeah, it's a job, and I'd be like, ‘What are you talking about? This is a phenomenal place to work,” Ott said.
Ott became frustrated and made it her mission to find out the best way to retain Generation Z (Gen Z) employees. She is now pursuing a doctorate on the topic at Fairfield University's Charles F. Dolan School of Business.
Part of that research involves figuring out how millennials interact with Gen Z employees.
Ott developed a term which she calls, Guided Stewardship. It allows for a more flexible working relationship between managers and staff.
One of Ott’s key findings is that GenZ and millennial employees have a more fluid relationship with authority compared to other generations such as Generation X and Baby Boomers.
“It's a flexible, dynamic relationship in the workplace between a manager and an employee, where context matters when it comes to authority and expertise, and it allows both sides to lean in more and do mutual learning,” Ott said.
Deferring to a Gen Z employee especially when it comes to social media could be well worth it, since they’re likely to have a better knowledge of that space compared to other generations, according to Ott.
Ott has held dozens of interviews for her project and cautioned not every millennial or Gen Z employee behave the same in the workplace. However, she said she’s noticed commonalities.
Many of the Gen Z employees Ott has managed tend to value a more emotionally open workplace.
“They want to be kind of nurtured a little bit more, versus my older staff members, who don't share anything about their personal life,” Ott said.
Millennials are more open to this kind of managerial approach, since many of them tend to place a higher premium on their identity as parents and are the first generation to value mental and emotional security at work, according to Ott.
“Gen Z, we're seeing that they still want very much that parenting relationship, even outside of the family,” Ott said. “So it's a unique situation where you're seeing Millennials willing to lean in more.”
It’s something other workers such as Dan Onofio have noticed as well.
Onofio is the CEO and President of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council and a member of Generation X. Onofio says he’s noticed a change in how younger employees are treated, and said some of his fellow Generation X members are surprised at the amenities some companies in Connecticut offer to employees like game rooms.
“If you're a business owner or business leader, you want to create an environment that complements the work that you do, but also presents an opportunity to retain the best talent, and sometimes that requires additional benefits and amenities within your office space,” Onofrio said.
